This Equation Can Predict If Your Relationship Will Last

Mathematician Hannah Fry thinks she has found the answer to determining if a relationship with last, Business Insider reports.

Fry has come up with a mathematical equation to determine how negatively a husband and wife perceive one another. “In relationships where both partners consider themselves as happy, bad behavior is dismissed as unusual,” says Fry. “In negative relationships, however, the situation is reversed. Bad behavior is considered the norm.” Basically, a healthy relationship is based on being optimistic. If a couple argues, they assume they did it because they have had an off day. While in a negative relationship, a person within the couple assumes their partner is mean or selfish.

The new relationship formula takes mood, expectations, and influence on each person into account. Fry says the healthiest relationships are ones with a high “negativity threshold,” where couples feel comfortable to complain and voice their concerns without any anger toward each other. The couple then is able to work together to fix their concerns.

Successful relationships are ones where couples give their partners the benefit of doubt and work together through their issues. Relationships that are less likely to succeed are those where couples get so fed up with each other during arguments that they do not talk it out.

“Mathematics leaves us with a positive message for our relationships,” Fry says, “reinforcing the age-old wisdom that you really shouldn’t let the sun go down on your anger.”